In fact, since the interviewed aired, the EgyptAir flight carrying our 26 travelers touched down at JFK International Airport late this afternoon. I’m letting out a big exhale right now. Welcome home travelers!

Walaa, a Friendly Planet Travel tour guide who has been with the travelers since the protests in Egypt erupted, accompanied them to the airport.

He called me at 2:30 a.m. to tell me that everyone was on the flight and en route to New York. The flight is expected to land at 3:51 p.m. I can’t thank Walaa enough for staying with our travelers throughout this entire situation.

We’re really glad to be at this point, but we’re going to wait until the plane touches down before we exhale. Stay tuned to the blog, Twitter, and Facebook. I’ll update you as soon as our travelers arrive home.

Below is the e-mail I sent to their emergency contacts last night detailing the decision to book the EgyptAir flight and how they will be accommodated until they depart. We worked 24/7 to make these arrangements for our travelers, and I’m so happy that they’ll be back in U.S. within the next day.

I’ll share more updates with you on the situation in Egypt as they unfold on the blog, Twitter, and Facebook. And stay tuned, I’ll tell you what to do about rescheduling or cancelling an upcoming trip to Egypt in my next blog post.

We would like to update you regarding your family and friends still in Egypt. At present, our group remains at the Fairmont Heliopolis. Early this morning (Cairo time) the group was offered three options for leaving Egypt. The options were:

1. A Viking Cruises-organized charter flight from Cairo to Frankfurt.2. US Government-organized evacuation flights to Malta, Cyprus, Athens and other European locations.3. Confirmed space on Thursday, Feb. 3 via EgyptAir non-stop service to JFK.

The group unanimously voted to remain in Cairo until Feb. 3, when they could depart via EgyptAir direct to the USA. The other two options were less attractive to the group due to the unknown costs associated with getting from Europe to the USA. The cost of the Viking charter was $600 per person plus the cost of getting from Frankfurt to the USA, plus hotel and meal expenses if overnight accommodations in Frankfurt were necessary. The cost of the US Government flights is unknown, and as with Frankfurt, the cost of getting from the European cities to the USA plus potential hotel expenses also should be considered.

The EgyptAir appeared to be the best option, as the ticket is already covered by the original EgyptAir ticket from our tour, and the extra nights at the Fairmont hotel are being covered from the refund of services our travelers are due. Thus, if all goes well, you will be seeing your loved ones very soon. And in the meantime, our travelers are comfortable at the Fairmont Hotel, with two provided meals daily as well as their hotel accommodations.

Telephone service remains difficult, although the land lines seem to work better than cell phone service. The internet remains a huge problem. We have not been able to communicate via the internet since it was cut last Thursday.

Our Egypt representatives remain with the group at all times, so they have local assistance if needed.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us if we can be of any assistance to you. In the meantime, we will continue to update you as we receive more information.

But be patient if you can’t get through right away. Most lines are busy, but if you keep trying you will reach the hotel.

We are working to get everyone on flights out of Egypt, either on U.S.-organized evacuation flights or via EgyptAir, which is once again flying as usual. We are even looking into chartering a plane. Meanwhile, everyone is comfortable at the hotel, still accompanied by bi-lingual staff at all times.

Please be assured that all of us at Friendly Planet Travel, together with everyone at Wings Tours in Egypt, are working 24/7 to maintain the safety of our travelers and to get them home quickly. We will not stop our efforts until every last Friendly Planet traveler has landed in the U.S.

About Peggy

Peggy Goldman is a specialty tour operator and travel expert, who owns and operates Friendly Planet Travel, a full-service company that specializes in tour packages to exotic worldwide destinations at affordable prices. More about Peggy